The present invention pertains to an improved football-kicking device which permits a kicker to practice without the assistance of another player to hold the ball on the bround or playing surface as it is being kicked, and more particularly to an adjustable place-kicking device which can hold the ball at any desired angle to the verical.
Modern football is a game of specialists who can perform a specific task well. One such specialist is a place-kicker who is required to kick a football, held on a playing surface by another player, various distances at varying trajectories with a great degree of accuracy. To acquire these skills, a place-kicker puts in many long hours on the practice field perfecting his skills in kicking a footbal at different trajectories. On many of these practice sessions the kicker is unable to find a player to hold the ball on the ground as he kicks it; therefore, he must use a kicking tee or one of the presently available practice place-kicking devices.
While a number of kicking tee constructions have been provided, such, for the most part, have not effectively released the ball in such a manner as to provide the trajectory necessary for a given distance of travel. Some recently proposed kicking tees have been capable of releasing the ball in a manner which does not adversely affect its travel. However, these devices do not provide sufficient force to hold the football in place and at the desired angle prior to being kicked.
Representative of the available practice kicking devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,105,686, 3,762,706, and 3,897,948. These prior art devices are suitable for limited place-kicking situations; however, they are designed for supporting a football in a substantially vertical position. With the greater importance on field goals and extra points in the game of football, greater emphasis is placed on the vertical angle at which the ball is held prior to its being kicked. The closer the ball is to the vertical when kicked, the lower its trajectory, and the further the ball is tilted from the vertical when kicked, the higher its trajectory.